Thursday, April 14, 2016

Since the advent of the
Internet, convictions for the possession, display, trading, and distribution of
child sexual exploitation material (CSEM) have risen steadily, but little is
known about their appropriate assessment and treatment, especially concerning
their risk of reoffending. It has been suggested that a conceptual distinction
of fantasy- versus contact-driven CSEM users might be of merit.

Sixty-eight
offenders recruited from sex offender treatment providers were assessed via an
anonymous computer survey including a variety of clinical and risk-related
variables; the findings showed differences in the psychological profiles
between CSEM users and contact child sex offenders. Numerical and spatial
methods of data analysis were used to identify subgroups of CSEM users; these
confirmed the twofold distinction of fantasy- versus contact-driven offending.

The spatial representation of participants identified three dimensions as
crucial in the classification of these subgroups: direct sexual contact with a
minor, possession of fantasy-generating material, and social contact with other
users with a sexual interest in minors; potentially differentiating distinct
offender subgroups with different risks and needs.

The current study informed
the development of an empirical model of CSEM users that could aid in the
assessment of risk of reoffending and cross-over to contact sex offending.